"S" is for Spain

(Update:  Loved your great comments about yesterday's post on roux.  When the A-Z Challenge ends, we'll return to roux for a laid-back visit.)
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Growing up, we kids knew our great-grandmother had come to Louisiana from Spain in the mid-1800s with her parents, but that's about all. Her operative language was French (because it was her husband's first language and the dominant language in Louisiana at the time).  But even as older kids, we knew the English she knew (basic conversational) and remained within that vocabulary. Not long after her 102nd birthday, however, she refused to speak English.  My grandmother could easily translate (as French was her first language).

Communication problems arose some months later when great-grandmother refused to speak French, only Spanish.  No one, including my grandmother, had ever heard her speak Spanish.  The Spanish teacher at the local high school would come by on a regular basis to translate.  (She didn't want to be paid, but my father insisted.)

My great-grandmother died at 104, with her native language, Spanish, on her lips.

Spain was very much a part of Louisiana's colonial picture.  After a series of interrelated events, including the French and Indian War in the States and the Seven Years'War in Europe, France ceded control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain in 1762.  (Note: I've condensed much here. After the Bienville/Iberville brothers, this is another era of eye-popping dates/events that gives students fits.)

Spain's rule, from the Cabildo (City Council) in New Orleans, was benign.  The various migrations (English, Welsh, Irish, German, Swedish, African, and so on) continued into the Louisiana Territory. The Port of New Orleans grew.  Like today (but not as extensively), barges plied the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, transporting mercantile goods, crops, lumber, etc. in and out of interior regions.  Thus, the French Quarter, the original heart of New Orleans, developed into a bustling center.

However, in 1788, the Great New Orleans Fire destroyed much of the French Quarter (also called the Vieux Carre).  Since buildings from France's rule had been constructed without fire breaks, the fire had quickly spread. When the Spanish rebuilt, they mandated breaks between new buildings. This new construction reflected the Spanish architectural style.  Today, approximately 95% of the buildings in the Quarter are actually representative of Spanish architecture.

A YouTube tour of the French Quarter is  HERE.  Taken after Mardi Gras, you'll see beads lying around.  Authorities allow the display for a few hours as tourists love the hunt for missed beads tossed during the celebration.  A more common occurrence is the daily morning ritual of sanitation crews returning the streets to normal, a seven-day-a-week routine. This includes washing down the streets (as drunks puke).

Tourists from all over the world visit the French Quarter for a variety of reasons.  Besides the delicious food, the amazing jazz at Preservation Hall (it's worth the wait to get in), the magnificent architecture, there's a certain type of tourist who comes for Bourbon Street's night life.  Yep, it's there! But a word of caution here.  New Orleans is a somewhat liberal pocket in a very conservative state.  Not exactly any goes in New Orleans.  Those who push this envelope learn that Louisiana has some pretty tough laws.

Anyway, this truly delightful video is post-Katrina. Unless you're so inclined, please ignore the benign pitch at the end. Since the French Quarter is slightly above sea level and the highest point in New Orleans, the Quarter suffered damage, but not to the extent as the rest of the city.  Today, the Quarter looks really great, a glorious tribute to Spain's aesthetic contribution.

Again, the video, with the narrator's Southern accent, is HERE.

Throughout the French Quarter you will see these gorgeous Spanish tiles.  This is for Bienville Street.  (Wikipedia)

Note the Spanish arched building design (French Quarter Historical Society.)

The Presbytere on Chartres Street was once a residence for Capushin monks.  The French later added the mansard roof.  (French Quarter Historical Society.)

Spanish style covered walkway.  (Wikipedia)

St. Louis Cathedral is to the right in Jackson Square.  To the left is the Cabildo, where the Spanish administered the Louisiana Territory. (Today, the building is a museum.)  The French later added the mansard roof.  In 1514, Hernando de Soto, exploring from Florida, claimed the Mississippi River Valley and all of its tributaries for Spain.  In 1673, the French began to challenge Spain.  The French establishment at Natchitoches is the first permanent settlement in the Mississippi River Valley.  (Photo: Wikipedia.)

Creole houses with French and Spanish influences outside of French Quarter.  Note especially the deep porch.  This porch, but with a deeper sloping roof, would evolve to characterize Cajun houses.  It's often difficult to bury wires because of the proximity to sea level/below sea level water or because of historical construction.